Raiders steamroll Norsemen for shutout win

Playing their first game since breaking into the Bound Wisconsin Coaches’ Poll, the Arcadia football team looked fully worthy of that distinction in a thrashing of Westby.

The Raiders (5-1, 3-1 Coulee Conference) pulled away from the Norsemen (2-4, 1-3) in the second half for a 44-0 shutout victory in their conference clash this past Friday in Westby.

Though Arcadia never looked in danger of losing, it wasn’t a total blowout right from the start. The Raiders led 8-0 after the first quarter and only led by double digits at the halftime break thanks to a touchdown in the waning stages of the second quarter to make it 14-0.

Arcadia put the pedal to the floor in the second half, however, by outscoring the Norsemen 30-0 over the final 24 minutes of the game.

All six of the Raiders touchdowns came on the ground, led by junior Deklyn Grzadzielewski rushing for 79 yards and a pair of touchdowns on 15 carries. Senior Logan Breska finished with 51 yards and two touchdowns on 11 rushes, senior Carter Wegman tallied 39 yards and a touchdown on six attempts, and freshman Easton Guenther added a 12-yard touchdown run.

All told, Arcadia put up 189 rushing yards while averaging 5.3 yards per carry.

The passing game was a little more uneven for the Raiders this week, with Wegman completing 7 of 18 passes for 131 yards while getting picked off twice. Junior Khyle Updike hauled in a pair of catches for 62 yards.

Leading the way for the Arcadia defense were Breska and junior Landon White, who each had six solo tackles, and senior Austin Fernholz, who recorded two sacks and recovered a fumble. Senior Jonah Slaby also had an interception.

Coming off their win over the Luther Knights the week prior, the Raiders were rewarded by being ranked No. 10 Division 5 in the Bound Wisconsin Coaches’ Poll. They also find themselves in a strong position to eventually host a playoff game at Cashen Field.

According to unofficial rankings from Madison LaFollette assistant coach Andy Lavoy — who helped develop the WIAA’s football playoff matrix — Arcadia finds themselves No. 11 in the latest playoff matrix update and in line for a No. 3 seed in the postseason.

The Raiders can further improve their playoff positioning with a win in a marquee matchup this Friday, where they host the La Crosse Aquinas Blugolds (5-1, 3-1) at 7 p.m. in a battle between the two teams tied for second in the Coulee standings.